Argasid and Nuttalliellid Ticks as Parasites and Vectors

Inquérito Epidemiológico De Suposto Foco De Febre Maculosa

“…A febre após a picada de carrapatos de várias espécies é um sinal clínico comumente relatado nos casos de FM (R. rickettsii) das Américas e outras riquetsioses que ocorrem pelo mundo, tais como febre escaro-nodular (R. conorii), febre africana da picada do carrapato (R. africae), tifo do carrapato de Queensland (R. australis), tifo da Ilha Flinders (R. honei), tifo siberiano ou do norte da Ásia (R. sibirica), febre maculosa oriental (R. japonica), tibola (R. slovaca), Linfangite Expansiva (R. sibirica mongolotimonae), rickettsiose européia (R. helvetica) e febre maculosa riquetsiosa (R. parkeri) (1,2,(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26) . Histórico da picada de carrapato ou exposição às áreas infestadas de carrapatos ocorre em cerca de 60% dos casos de Febre Maculosa das Montanhas Rochosas (FMMR) nos EUA (27) .…”

Biological and ecological characteristics of soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae) and their impact for predicting tick and associated disease distribution

“…2) -A typical life-cycle of a soft tick indicating the different developmental instars, the crucial steps between instars and, in grey boxes, the duration of each step for the species O. moubata (according to Morel, 1969;Cunliffe, 1921;Loomis, 1961). may be seen as an adaptation to their nidicolous lifestyle; they reduce possible exposure to unfavourable external conditions by detaching rapidly from their vertebrate hosts before these hosts leave the microhabitat in search of food or a sexual partner (Sonenshine, 1993). Soft ticks have developed physiological strategies to favour such rapid blood feeding, including high tegument distension during blood feeding and excretion of excess water and ions via coxal glands as soon as blood is ingested or just after detachment (Hoogstraal, 1985). Many pathogens maintained in soft tick reservoirs like Borrelia or ASFV are excreted in coxal fluid, which increases their transmission capacity through tick-to-tick transfers (Gaber et al, 1984;Kleiboeker et al, 1998).…”

“…They lack a dorsal scutum in adult and nymphal stages as the most discriminating morphological feature and always exhibit a nidicolous to endophilous lifestyle as their major ecological attribute (Pospelova-Shtrom, 1969). Their specialization to sheltered microhabitats and their characteristic short blood feeding duration usually hides their presence such that their role in human and animal health is generally ignored (Hoogstraal, 1985). However, they can cause toxicosis, paralysis, irritation, allergies and exsanguination, and can play an important role as vectors and reservoirs of pathogens (Jonjegan & Uilenberg, 2004).…”

“…Scientists are challenged to detect changes in the distribution of vectors, reservoirs and pathogens, and to attribute these shifts to anthropogenic and/or environmental changes (McMichael et al, 2006). As a consequence, it is essential to reveal any of biological and ecological characteristics of soft ticks, in contrast to those of the ixodid line, to understand their peculiar distribution patterns and habitat preferences and their specific role as parasites, vectors and pathogen reservoirs (Hoogstraal, 1985;Sonenshine, 1993). The present paper aims i) to review such characteristics of soft ticks, with a special emphasis on the genus Ornithodoros; ii) to present their epidemiological impact in terms of risk for tick and associated disease distribution; and iii) to propose new research priorities to improve model predictions on changes in the distribution of soft ticks and tick-borne diseases.…”

Comments on controversial tick (Acari: Ixodida) species names and species described or resurrected from 2003 to 2008

“…Here we discuss all the controversial tick names that have come to our attention, correct a number of common spelling errors, and provide a list of species described or resurrected during the years 2003-2008. There are several competing phylogenies of the Argasidae and the Ixodidae. Thus, Filippova (1966), Pospelova-Shtrom (1969), Hoogstraal (1985), Klompen and Oliver (1993), and Camicas et al (1998) offer different arrangements of the genera and subgenera of the Argasidae, while Hoogstraal and Aeschlimann (1982), Black and Piesman (1994), Filippova (1994), Camicas et al (1998), Barker and Murrell (2002) and Horak et al (2002), among others, present classifications of the Ixodidae with varying degrees of congruence. The and has probably been lost, making comparison with other species impossible.…”